UPSC Zoology Syllabus 2020 – IAS Mains Optional Subjects

UPSC Zoology Syllabus 2020: Check out the latest UPSC Mains Zoology Syllabus 2020. Zoology subject is one of the optional papers in UPSC IAS Mains Exam. Earlier we’ve provided UPSC Mains Syllabus, Now we are providing UPSC Mains Optional Subject Syllabus of Zoology Paper. There is only “ONE” optional subject to choose from the list of optional subjects which are given below. It comprises of two papers each of 250 marks. So, the optional paper has a total 500 marks. In UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam, Zoology is one of the Optional Subjects and consists of 2 papers. Each paper is of 250 marks with a total of 500 marks. Find below the UPSC Syllabus for Zoology Optional Subject.

UPSC Mains Zoology Syllabus PAPER – I

Non-Chordata and Chordata:

(a) Classification and relationship of various phyla up to subclasses: Acoelomate and Coelomate, Protostomes and Deuterostomes, Bilateria and Radiata; Status of Protista, Parazoa, Onychophora, and Hemichordata; Symmetry.

(b) Protozoa:

Locomotion, nutrition, reproduction, sex; General features and life history of Paramaecium, Monocystis, Plasmodium, and Leishmania.

(c) Porifera: Skeleton, canal system and reproduction.

(d) Cnidaria:

Polymorphism, defensive structures, and their mechanism; coral reefs and their formation; metagenesis; general features and life history of Obelia and Aurelia.

(e) Platyhelminthes:

Parasitic adaptation; general features and life history of Fasciola and Taenia and their pathogenic symptoms.

(f) Nemathelminthes:

General features, life history, a parasitic adaptation of Ascaris and Wuchereria.

(g) Annelida:

Coelom and metamerism; modes of life in polychaetes; general features and life history of Nereis, earthworm, and leach.

(h) Arthropoda:

Larval forms and parasitism in Crustacea; vision and respiration in arthropods (Prawn, cockroach, and scorpion); modification of mouthparts in insects (cockroach, mosquito, housefly, honey bee, and butterfly); metamorphosis in insect and its hormonal regulation, the social behavior of Apis and termites.

(i) Mollusca:

Feeding, respiration, locomotion, general features and life history of Lamellidens, Pila and Sepia, torsion and detorsion in gastropods.

(j) Echinodermata:

Feeding, respiration, locomotion, larval forms, general features and life history of Asterias.

(k) Protochordata:

Origin of chordates; general features and life history of Branchiostoma and Herdmania.

Ecology:

(a) Biosphere: Concept of the biosphere; biomes, Biogeochemical cycles, Human-induced changes in an atmosphere including the greenhouse effect, ecological succession, biomes and ecotones, community ecology. (b) The concept of the ecosystem; structure and function of the ecosystem, types of ecosystem, ecological succession, ecological adaptation. (c) Population; characteristics, population dynamics, population stabilization. (d) Biodiversity and diversity conservation of natural resources. (e) Wildlife of India. (f) Remote sensing for sustainable development. (g) Environmental biodegradation, pollution and its impact on the biosphere and its prevention.

Developmental Biology:

(a) Gametogenesis; spermatogenesis, the composition of semen, in vitro and in vivo capacitation of mammalian sperm, Oogenesis, totipotency; fertilization, morphogenesis and morphogen, blastogenesis, the establishment of body axes formation, fate map, gesticulation in frog and chick; genes in development in chick, homeotic genes, development of eye and heart, placenta in mammals. (b) Cell lineage, cell-to-cell interaction, Genetic and induced teratogenesis, the role of thyroxine in control of metamorphosis in amphibia, paedogenesis and neoteny, cell death, aging. (c) Developmental genes in man, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, cloning. (d) Stem cells: Sources, types and their use in human welfare. (e) Biogenetic law.